As the Emberdon's continued to study in the Temple. Their power had grown by another fold.
The biggest contributing factor was that someone who walked in the Celestial Code was present. By seeing how the elements move and interact, the Emberdons were able to see how the elements would be wielded by the first god, who created several elements.
The Light was from Solas and Soter, the Darkness from Kyriachos, but Fire, Lightning, Water, Ice, Earth, and Wind was born from the Celestial Code.
It was as if they were students who had the opportunity to see how the grandmaster of element wielding works. They had the chance that not many in the entire cosmos have experienced. And with such expert welding done before them, they could further understand how to summon the elements at will correctly.
The Library of the Nephilim also gave them massive boosts in understanding the magic theory.
The findings revealed that each Element had a 'family', which depicts the range of elements that a person can easily wield.
Demetrius's elemental affinity was Entropy. And going by the rules of this 'elemental family', the next two elements moving in both directions of this wheel would be part of the family. Those directly next to the Element would give the wielder great compatibility in studying the said elements, and those on the second spot would give them good compatibility.
This was why although Demerus did not have wind as his innate affinity, it was still in the family, allowing him to wield the magic in a superior manner. The other element with which Demerus would have great compatibility was Lightning. As for the elements that were on the further side of the elemental family, Demerus would have good compatibility with Fire and Space magic.
The arrangement of the Elemental Affinity of the Emberdons was also spread out. This gave them the ability to master all the elements and was able to teach the other magic practitioners how to wield them.
The teachings of Mezal on how to use the soul to add power to Force were also talked about.
Branze, who has managed to reach the next level of this in terms of wielding Holy energy, was also immersed in the research and training of the team. They were all obsessed with understanding this power for the first three days. Only the training for [De-Spacito] would interrupt them. On the fourth day, the team had enough theories and began to work on application and training.
But by that time, the Emberdons already had enough theories of magic-wielding that would put the Midland wizard grandmasters to shame.
Training the rest of the forces was also easy with all the advantages. The books on the Library of the Nephilim gave the most efficient and basic knowledge that made those new to the training easily wield magic. And with the advanced knowledge of the Emberdons, the soul empowering theories of Mezal and Branze, and the constant exposure to the Celestial Code, many new trainees had enough skill to put the magic-using captains of the Lowlands to shame.
Skeletons turned into lowly liches, and the lowly Lich Devian was now a proper lich.
The lizardman mages, the feather folk magic users, and some of the wizards from the surviving settlements had also grown vastly in this time.
In preparation for the strike team that would harass the enemies, Kyros planned together with the team what to do.
"We have ten scepters that are at least good for captains that the Temple provided. We also have fifteen Captain level scepters and three Champion level scepters from the surviving settlements. That is not counting the Emberdons scepters. I think we can do well with this. Pair up the team to harness those scepters. Both should have the same elemental affinity and will split roles in harnessing these scepters."
"I see. One focuses on defense, the other on offense. That sounds like a brilliant plan. Normally, it would be difficult to create such an army, and we probably can't do that in the Lowlands. But with the knowledge of Elemental Affinity and our unified training on how to wield energy, we could establish a buddy system for mages to work together. That way, training them will be easier since we can divide the groups to train on a single aspect." Faye agreed.
"That sounds interesting... Who wants to partner up with me?" Stellya asked.
Several hands suddenly shot up, immediately volunteering to be Stellya's partner.
"We'll talk about that next time. And I don't think you five Emberdons need partners, anyway. We just need a more solid framework for how this partner thing works for the rest of our teams." Kyros answered.
"Why don't they imitate a spaceship or a fighter jet? One focuses on defending and creating the protective energy field, navigating through the sky, using his energy to protect both pilots. The other will focus on shooting and attacking." Calaminus suggested.
"...That's actually a good plan!" Kyros marveled.
Martha also agreed.
"A spaceship? What's that?"
"What's a jet?"
"Everyone, get ready! We'll draft the plans now!" Kyros immediately ordered as Calaminus's suggestions inspired him.
Using the magical scepters as the basis, two magic users paired up and held the scepter together. With their knowledge, the group managed to enchant the scepters using the Energy Conversion Circles of Kyros that the scepter granted flight to the users.
The Energy Conversion Circles also had a formation that allowed the creation of a stabilized energy field which acted as the 'ship' that the pair rode.
The ship had a simple design enough to cover just the two of them, and it took the shape of a small jet.
These jets flew from the sky at the order of Demerus.
On the lead were the five Emberdons solely piloting their craft.
Behind him, all twenty-eight enchanted scepters with all the magic capable members of the Nephilim's armies flew out in a formation.
The teams were divided into five squadrons. Demerus led the Black Squadron with teams possessing mages that were either Entropy or Lightning members. They were the vanguard and the shield-breaking team.
Faye commanded the Gold Squadron with a mix of people using Fire and Lightning. They were diverse users with speed and could throw in strong attacks suited for direct engagement.
Ressi commanded the Blue Squadron, and all Ice, Water, and Earth users joined her. They were the defensive squadrons focused on providing defenses for the entire squadron.
Triona commanded the Red Squadron and had purely Fire users flying behind her. They focused on enemy bombardments with their wide and explosive spells.
Stellya commanded the Green Squadron, which used Wind and Space users. They were the scouts of the team that would fly in and out of the battle.
All five had an excited look on their face as they were dying to try out their new weapon of warfare. The last piece that allowed them to organize the team was Kyros's special enchantment. Kyros crafted a small communication device that links with the Temple using some of the magic stones that the settlements had. Then, with Calaminus using his Time and Space powers as means to broadcast a frequency, the group managed to create a proper airforce.
"All Wings of the Nephilim, Report in!" Demerus ordered.
"Red Alpha, standing by."
"Red Bravo, ready for battle!"
"Red Charlie, all systems engaged."
"Red Delta, awaiting orders!"
"Red Echo, flying in."
"Green Alpha, reporting in."
"Green Bravo, on the go!"
"Green Charlie, prepared!"
One by one, the pilots reported their call signs and assumed formation until the last call was made.
"Special Force Commander, Empress Draconis, reporting for duty. All members accounted for." Martha was the last to give her report.
"Enemies at the horizon. Emberdons, ready for the bombardment of your teams. Black Squadron first! Gold Squadron follows, let loose at the collapse of the shield. Blue Squadron set up a massive shield to counter the incoming attacks. Red and Green Squadron, move in at the opening. Everyone, safe skies." Demerus ordered.
The flying armies of Eredus, Lucas, and Faust could be seen in the distance.
"What are those?" One of the Vampire scouts saw the approaching groups.
"The enemies!" Another scout reported. The massive words that remained in the sky to taunt them drew everyone's attention that they only noticed the approaching fleet now.
"What? They dare attack us?!" Eredus raged.
"Prepare for battle! They seem to be using mages!"
"Hmph! Wipe them all out!" Eredus roared.
"Wait, you fool! Don't be driven mad! We have our orders! Stay on the defensive. Allow my skeletons to take their first attack and then send your forces! Lucas! Send your monstrous fliers as well!!" Faust ordered back.
"...Fine. Vampires stand behind the army of Lucas. Those are Champions. And according to Neteri's memories, they do have powerful magics. Let the skeletons wear them down."
"Bring up the magics' shields and prepare to shoot them down!"
"Sky Grendels! Sky Deviants! attack after the skeletons fire their attacks!" Lucas gave his orders as well.
Martha was watching and sneered at the arrangement of the enemies.
"Puff. Ready the Dark Devourer. We'll eat up the first round of magic. Such a magical dose should be good food for us to vomit back at them." Martha smiled.
At those words, the Emberdons also sneered.
"Minor correction to the plans. Red and Green, move in after Empress Draconis attacks." Demerus gave the last-second changes as the two armies were within firing range.
The first war in the Middle between Beginning and End was now reaching its final stages.
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